All the small things
by Seanmarshmallow
Summary: Neil and Rachel\Rio's relationship turns for the worst when Neil neglects her. Though, he didn't mean too. It was a stupid mistake he made by accident. But what happens when a small gift is given to Rachel, will it bring the both of them back together? Story inspired by the song Amsterdam by Imagine Dragons.


They had been Echo towns' sweethearts.

Everyone thought that they were going to live happily ever after with each other.

But no one ever suspected that they would break and fall completely apart.

* * *

_Sometimes it's better to have loved than to not love at all._

_But sometimes the littlest things can bring happiness back together._

* * *

Rachel knew how much Neil meant to her, and she loved that man with all her heart. She'd do anything for that cold blonde. Sometimes people would even ask her why she even attempted to date Neil.

She'd always reply with, "_You don't know him like I do."_

Certainly, they 'didn't' know the animal salesmen like the young girl did. Everyone thought he was just too bitter to approach. But, because of Rachel taking some risks; the blonde managed to see the true man that hid behind his façade.

But the truth is; he was just anti-social and timid. All Neil wanted was some friends. And maybe hanging out and spending time with him would make his day a little brighter.

From the moment he opened up to her, something sparked in between them.

Friendship?

No.

_Something deeper than that._

Best friends?

No.

More than friends?

Yes.

* * *

Neil walked into the enclosed field Rachel had been working in, and stood behind her. He stood there for at least a minute until he decided he wasn't gonna waste his time waiting for her to realize he'd been back there the whole time.

An 'ahem' escaped his lips as the blonde quickly turned around to see her new-husband behind her.

"W-Woah!" Rachel gasped. Startled - she accidently fell on her butt, and what made it better is that she landed on one of her plants. "I didn't see ya' there!" Rachel exclaimed.

Neil perked a brow at the small farmer. Confused he was indeed.

He held his hand out for her to grab. "Geez, I just wanted to say hi." Neil grunted as Rachel grabbed his hand and helped her pull herself up. "Not for you to get some heart attack."

Rachel shot a look at him playfully. "Sorry. It's just that I'm always aware of my surroundings." She got on her tippy-toes and got into his face. "So that way, no pervert tries to take me away." The blonde began to snicker.

Neil shook his head and looked down at Rachel with a small smile. "I sometimes don't know what to do with you, Rach." He reached down and grabbed her small hand. "But if some pervert does try to get you. Then they'll have a giant pissed off asshole on their hands."

She blushed at the comment and giggled. Oh, how she loved his little comments like these. It made her heart flutter with excitement and adoration.

"I would say something to make you embarrassed but you would just kill me if I did!" She taunted and let go of his hands, walking around him and hopping over the fence.

Neil glared at the girl with a small tint of crimson on his face. Sure, she didn't actually say anything embarrassing but, god, that girl knew everything to get him flushing like crazy.

"Don't even start with me." Neil followed after her, and caught up. Beginning to fidget with his jacket he quietly chirped up. "Anyways…"He stopped and hesitated.

"Hm?" Rachel cocked her head towards the _blonde_ with a smile. Her hair was shining more golden today than usual. And her eyes were just prettier than ever.

_Oh god dammit. Just say it, Neil. You know you'll be regretting it later if you don't. _Neil thought.

"Rach, I gotta ask you something important." Neil spoke in a low tone. Looking up from his jacket, he looked at Rachel who was staring at him. "B-But, you have to answer me honestly!"

"Sure. I'll answer it as honest as I can." She shrugged, and waited for the question to escape his mouth. "Go on!" She urged.

Neil met her eyes with his for a few seconds before speaking up. "This may seem sudden for you. But…" The blond looked down, a slight shade of crimson appeared on his cheeks. "I want a child." He took a deep breath and went on. "I want to start a family with you, and I don't care how many kids you want. A-All I want is your happiness."

Rachel smiled at him, and gripped his hands even tighter. "Neil… "She looked off into the pasture with a few of her cows grazing in the grass. "I want a baby too."

He stared down at his wife, and was pretty shocked at the response."T-Then we gotta try for one!" Neil hesitantly said.

She snorted as his encouragement. "Calm down! It's the afternoon after all!"

"But…" Neil trailed off. Blushing furiously, and feeling like an idiot for saying that. "Sorry. I got a bit carried away…" He released his hands from hers.

Rachel thought for a moment, and looked up at him with a smile. "Well, if you want one so badly." She crossed her arms. "I guess you'll be getting a present this afternoon."

The blonde blinked, and was quite speechless. "But you just sai-"

"Never mind what I just said!" She grabbed his jacket tightly and dragged him into the small house they shared.

"R-Rachel!"

A few months passed and yet no baby has been expected. Rachel wasn't pregnant and Neil and her kept on trying. But still no luck.

Eventually Neil had to be out of the house more and Rachel was home alone by herself doing really nothing besides feeding the animals and planting new crops, Rod would come over and check in on her too.

Soon it came to a point where Neil was barely there besides in the night time and even then Neil would be focused on something else. Rachel worried about him a lot. It hurt for her to know that he was more interested in his animals more than her. Even Rod told her that he was at the stand most of the time with his animals. He even tried to ask about him and Rachel; the whole time he didn't really even seem to care.

Rachel felt heartsick, and felt like her husband didn't even seem to care about her anymore. She felt used, or worse – unloved.

Rachel sat down at the table after a hard day, she needed a break and some time to relax. It certainly didn't make the situation better when your husband who didn't even notice you anymore was about to arrive home any minute too. Oh, speak of the devil.

Neil walked through the door with his casual jacket, boots and camouflage pants. He let out a low grumble and walked over to the table and plopped down on the chair. "Ugh… Goddamn."

"What is it?" Rachel spoke softly, looking down at her hands. She didn't know if she wanted to look at her husband or not.

"A few costumers were being assholes today… I had to deal with em' screeching in my ears for at least 3 hours." Neil looked over at his wife who was staring down at her hands. "Something wrong?"

Rachel glared up at him. She was on the verge of breaking at this point. "Something wrong?" Her voice cracked as the words were spitted out like venom. "You SHOULD know what's wrong, Neil!"

Neil was shocked by these words. Rachel would never snap at someone like this… Let alone himself. But… he did know what was wrong; he knew what he did and why she was this way.

"Calm down." He said quietly, just looking down at the table top.

"Why should I?" She retorted. "Do you know how much we even see each other anymore!?" Rachel's voice began to get shaky. "Are you cheating on me or something? Because if you are I-I don't want t-"

"I'm not cheating on you!" Neil stood up from his seat and slammed both of his fists into the hard wood. "Rachel, you need to calm the hell down before I get fucking angry."

Rachel began to shake in her seat before she stood up to face the male. "I don't have to listen to you." She spoke in a harsh tone. "All you ever do is Ignore me and all you give a shit about is your animals!" The blonde snapped.

"If you have a problem with that, then get the fuck outta my face." He stood there, glaring at the much smaller girl.

The blonde grew quiet and looked at Neil once more before running out the door.

_She was done with this man._

_He never gave a shit about her._

_All he cares about is his freaking animals. _

_He even used her for a… Child._

Rachel decided she'd go to Rod's, he'd surely understand. Right? Rachel made her way to Rod's house after a few minutes. As soon as she reached the front door, she was already breaking down in tears.

Rod opened up the door with a bright smile. "Hey there, Rach!" He blinked once he saw the red puffy eyes on her. "Oh… What happened?"

"C-Can I come in first?..." She piped up.

"Y-Yeah, sure." He opened the door up and she walked inside. Rod blinked a few times and spoke. "Now, can you tell me what happened?"

Rachel stared at the ground for a second and sniffed. "I-I think… I'm just done with Neil." She looked up at Rod who had a shocked look on his face. "I can't take it anymore…"

"Oh Rachel…" Rod walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. A small smile grew on his lips. "It'll be okay. Believe me; it's going to get better."

"N-No. It's not."

"Why not?"

"Because I want to go home…" The girl sobbed, she wanted to go back home to get a new refreshing start. She did know she'd be leaving all her friends behind, including Neil.

_Rod's heart sank. Rachel didn't know this but he really did like her; he was going to ask her out until he shy'd away from asking her. But he did realize he'd rather not ruin their friendship with a relationship. Her happiness is his._

"Don't do that." Rod's expression turned into a serious one. One she'd never seen him do. "It would break the town apart if you left."

"Why? All I did was rebuild it. The only real friends I have here are you, Neil and Allen." Rachel wiped tears away from her face and she looked up to face him. His eyes were piercing into her; he was serious about what he said earlier. Usually the guy would crack jokes or try to cheer a person up. But, this was different.

"I…" Rod looked away quickly once she looked at him with her innocent sapphire eyes and rubbed his arm. "If it's what you want to do… I-I'm not going to force you to stay."

Rachel nodded and hugged her friend tight, he was really her only support right now. Well, there's Allen too. But he'd just try to start a fight with Neil if he ever heard what happened.

"Can I stay here tonight?" She asked. "I just need to get through tonight and get everything ready to go back tomorrow." Rachel said as she released from the hug her and Rod shared.

The male nodded with glee. Even though a bit of a melancholy tone was glimmering through his eyes. "You can do whatever you want."

"Great! T-Thanks Rod!" Rachel ran over to the phone nearby his kitchen and picked it up, about ready to call up her mother.

"And Rachel?" Rod asked.

"Yeah?" Rachel looked over at Rod who was fidgeting with his goggles shyly.

"Come back to visit, okay?" He said and gave a wide grin. "I'm sure everyone is going to miss you."

Rachel smiled at him, and gave a thumbs up. "Don't worry. I'm planning on visiting anyways!"

After she walked out on him, Neil was worried about Rachel. He knew he had been neglecting her and not spending much time with her. He wished he could've done something about this sooner or maybe this would've never happened. Goddamnit, he loved that woman. He'd do anything for her in a matter of seconds. She's the first one who really made him feel like he was at home in this town.

But no, god fucking no. He had to mess this relationship up because of his stubbornness. He had to say thoughs' harsh words to her, didn't he? Now, he's just left in the small house sitting at the table.

_Alone._

_Because of his mistake._

Neil looked down at the table and was lost in his thoughts. It seemed like hours until he realized it was midnight and Rachel hadn't come home yet. He got up and was about to go look for her until he realized: Oh yeah, she walked out on me. No wonder why.

_I'm sorry lover,_

_I'm sorry I bring you down,_

_Well these days I'm fine,_

_No these days I tend to lie,_

_Kinda thought it was a mystery,_

_Then I thought it wasn't meant to be,_

_You said yourself fantastically,_

_Congratulations,_

_You were all alone._

Neil sobbed into his hands and walked over to the bed he and Rachel shared together. He sat down and felt the fabrics beneath him. It felt so cold without her here, just so alone.

He missed her already, just like he did with his parents. It seemed like everyone he cared about in his life was just slipping pass him. God, he hoped things would get better.

But he doubted it wouldn't too.

He laid back into the bed, and closed his eyes in hope that this was all a dream. His heart was sore, and it felt so unreal to him.

Rachel got up the next morning and got ready, her mother and herself talked about moving back to the city the night before. And today was that day she was going back, but something seemed different when she woke up that morning. She looked into the bathrooms mirror and noticed her belly had gotten a tad bit bigger. She guessed it might've been all the food she's been eating lately, nothing major.

The small blonde walked out and saw Rod at his table, eating some breakfast. She sighed and smiled a little at him.

Rod looked up and noticed she was looking at him, and gave a toothy grin. "Oh hey there!" He rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't see you standing there."

Rachel walked over and sat down on the chair opposite to him. She pulled a small piece of paper out of her pocket and placed it on the table. Looking down at it, she lowered her eyes and sighed once more.

"So… I wrote a letter for Neil." She said quietly.

"You did? Why? I thought you wanted to leave this place quietly." Rod asked with food in his mouth.

"He needs to know at least…" Rachel looked over the letter and sobbed. "I wouldn't want him to worry about me… If he even does."

Rod swallowed his food and stuck a fork in her direction making a point. "It's never good to sit and weep about things." He said with all his pride. "You should look to the future!"

She nodded, it was actually true. She did need to look to the future and try to forget about what happened here. "You're right… I really should." The girl got out of her chair and put the letter away. "All I'm doing right now is moping around and I need to cheer up." Rachel turned around with a smile and went to go pack her stuff.

The boy looked up at her walking away and smiled sadly. "You really loved him… Didn't you?" He spoke too quietly for her to hear.

"Huh? What did you say?" Rachel spun back around to Rod.

Rod shook his head and waved her off. "It's nothing. Get ready to leave." He chuckled.

"Alright! Whatever ya' say." She smiled brightly, turning back around.

* * *

_Rachel, you're faking your smile. I can see it._

* * *

Rachel walked out of the room to get her stuff ready, while Rod sat there lost in his own thoughts.

"Finally, the city!" Rachel exclaimed as she walked down the streets. She was on her way to her mom's apartment, which she lived in before she lived in Echo village

Growing up in the city wasn't too bad. It was a pretty calm place all around. Though, sometimes it scared her to know people got shot nearby her house.

Once she reached the apartment, she knocked on the door waiting for her mother to answer. It took a few moments but the door opened and revealed a slender, tall woman with long brown hair. "Well Hel-"The older woman blinked a few times and a smile grew on her face. "Oh Rachel! It's you!" The woman hugged her daughter tightly.

"Hey mom!" Rachel hugged back tight. "Its' been so long since I've seen you last!"

"Oh dear, come inside and sit down. We need to talk about what happened." She gestured for her to come inside. "Oh and Claire is here too!"

The blonde smiled. "She is?"

"Oh, yes, she's been here for a while." Her mother nodded. "She's just here to visit us, though, I wish she'd move back here…" She rolled her eyes.

Rachel walked inside and sat down on the couch in the living room and stretched. She looked down at her belly and groaned a bit, she felt sick. "Ack, mom, my stomach's hurting…"

"Did you eat anything bad lately?" Her mother walked in the room and sat down in a chair nearby.

"No… It just… Hurts." Rachel rubbed her stomach and sighed. "It's been like this ever since I came here."

Footsteps were pounding down the hallway when both the mother and daughter noticed a glimpse of blonde run at them and into Rachel's arms . It was Claire, Rachel's older sister.

"Soooo, no one ever told me you'd be back!" Claire exclaimed and hugged her sister.

"I didn't know it be front page news, Claire!" Rachel said and laughed as her sister gave her another tight hug.

Claire released from the hug, stood back up, and placed both of her hands on her hips. "Well it should be for me!" She said in a sassy tone.

Rachel rolled her eyes and looked over at her mom. "This'll be a long day."

Claire's eyes widened. "Hey!"

"I was just joking!"

* * *

Neil walked outside of the house him and Rachel 'used' to share and went to the mailbox to check the mail. It had been days since he last checked the thing.

He went through different bills, spam, ads and notes from Dunhill until he saw a letter with a flower stamp sealing it in the middle. That was odd.

He went inside, sat down at the table and opened it up.

* * *

_Dear Neil,_

_Hey, this is Rachel, just so you know. I bet you're probably really mad at me for leaving the house the other day… Hah, I'm sorry for that… I was just really lost. But, I just wanted to let you know I moved to the city to get away for a while. I couldn't take being alone in our own home… I needed the company. I'm really sorry for making this big mess. _

_And Neil? I just wanted to say you deserve more than me. I was probably boring you most of the time we were together, huh? All I am is just a small farm girl, there's plenty of other girls who are more prettier, cuter and… Well, better than me. I just want you to be happy, okay?_

_I'll be back one day._

_This may be the last I say this but… I love you._

_Love,_

_Rachel_

* * *

Neil's heart broke into two when he read that letter, he seriously didn't know what to do. This isn't alright; he wanted to make it right with Rachel. Not drive her away back to the city where once she came.

"R-Rachel…" Neil's hands began to shake with the letter in his grip. He wanted everything to be the way it was when they were together, back when he would take her to the waterfall, when he would go to the Starry Night festival with her!

He grew quiet for a minute. The room was silent, no noise could be heard except the birds chirping outside. But, unlike the room, his mind was loud and full of rage.

Then he finally snapped. "I-I'm such an idiot!" He got up and kicked the chair over, running out the door.

_He just didn't know what to do._


End file.
